Vegetarian Chili with Cornbread

Day 35

Everyone claims to make or knows someone who makes "the best chili". As far as I'm concerned, it's pretty hard to fuck up chili. However, I have had some mediocre chili, and it was even one of those "makes the BEST chili" ones.

Vegetarian Chili with Cornbread

Chili is probably the most popular Tex-Mex food in North America for its flavor and heartiness. Although usually made with ground beef as the star ingredient, it lends itself well to a vegan version since the ground beef adds more texture than flavor, with the chili and tomatoes creating the flavor and the beans being a key ingredient.

For variety, we usually use more than one kind of bean, which also makes it prettier. Same as the peppers, we usually use as many colors as we can. Today we happen to have lots on hand.

 Kidney beans

 Pinto beans

Butter (lima) beans

Laura: I'm not a snob about what beans go in my chili. Beans is beans.

Grocery List

Beans (any kind)
Diced tomatoes
Vegetable broth
Peppers (any color - red are best)
Onions
Chili powder
Chipotle powder
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Garlic
Balsamic vinegar
Brown sugar
Oregano

Vegetables for chili

The only thing we didn't already have on hand was the vegetable broth and diced tomatoes, so again, I had a short grocery list. However, I came home with crushed tomatoes instead of diced and Laura was not surprised since I do that type of thing a lot. "We will make do," she said.

Tonight's Recipe

Because, you know, this is different every time.

Beans

2/3 cup dried kidney beans
2/3 cup  dried butter beans
2/3 cup  dried pinto beans

Seasoning

3 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp chipotle powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 tbsp fresh oregano

Vegetables

2 tomatoes, diced
4 small onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 diced jalapenos, diced fine
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 orange pepper, diced

Broth

3/4 box vegetable broth
1 can crushed tomatoes

More Flavor

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar

How to Make It

Step 1

Do a quick soak with the beans (bring to a boil, turn off and let sit for an hour). Then rinse. Laura cooks each type of bean in a separate pot because she doesn't like mushy beans and finds they all cook at different rates, but if you're not super fussy, your beans can all be cooked together in one pot. In fact, most people are okay with canned beans, right? Much easier. We tend to avoid canned food for various reasons.

Clockwise from top left: pinto, lima & kidney beans

Step 2

In a large stew pot, add the canned and chopped tomatoes, 2/3 box vegetable broth and seasonings. Bring to a simmer.

Chili broth

Step 3

We added all the beans next since they were still firm and need to cook a teeny bit more to reach perfection.

Veggies; some chopped, some not

Step 3

Chop the onions, peppers and garlic and healthy sauté them in a bit of veggie broth until onions are clear. Scrape into pot with the tomato mixture.

Step 4

Add in the rest of the ingredients to enhance the flavor; balsamic vinegar and sugar. Generally we add cocoa powder to our chili too, for a richer flavor, but tonight we didn't have any on hand. Maybe next time. 

Pot of chili, simmering

Cornbread

Actual recipe here
Laura knows what foods pair with what and she always likes to have cornbread with chili. This one is not real sweet and has a spongy, rather than dense, texture.

Bowl of chili with cornbread

Reviews/Comments

This is amazing, as always. Even more amazing than usual. Chili goes a long way though. Keeps you full a long time, keeps you in leftovers for days on end and keeps you from wanting chili anytime soon. But...super good.

My rating: 10
Laura's rating: 10

Laura's comment: The chipotle powder made it. Anyone making chili without using chipotle powder needs to start using it. It has turned me into a chili fan.

Make it Vegan

Well, the chili is already vegan. We often serve ours with grated cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and a few pieces of scallion on top, but that is completely optional.

There are vegan cornbread recipes available.